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DEPARTMENT
OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
Online DANFS history series in html:
Acknowledgement
The Naval Historical Center and the Ships History Branch of the Naval
Warfare Division express their sincere and heartfelt thanks to Admiral James L.
Holloway III, United States Navy, Retired, Chairman of the Naval Historical
Foundation, whose generous grant made
the Online DANFS Project possible.
The Naval Historical Foundation contracted with Input Solutions, Inc., to
convert the entire Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships into
electronic format, and then donated the finished product to the Navy.
Introduction
The Ships History Branch of the Naval Warfare Division researches and writes
the multi-volume Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, available
in many libraries in the United States and abroad. Compiled like an encyclopedia, each volume includes summary
histories of U.S. Navy ships from certain sections of the alphabet. The volumes also include an assortment
of appendices on small craft, dictionary entries for Confederate Navy ships and
various essays related to naval ships.
The first volume, covering
ships starting with the letters A-B, was published in 1959. The first edition of the series
completed in 1981 with the publication of Volume VIII (letters W-Z). In 1991 a ninth volume, Volume IA,
revised the histories beginning with the letter A from the original Volume
I. A future Volume IB will revise
the histories beginning with the letter B.
Although digital versions of
DANFS entries have been available on non-government websites for some time, the
Online DANFS Project makes the official version of all 10,000+ entries
available for the first time.
Initially, the online histories are simply reproductions of the original
published material. Since many of
these entries are incomplete or out-of-date, the Online DANFS Project continues
as historians of the Ships History Branch update these histories and add new
material. Priority is being given
to completing entries for Volume IB, updating histories for ships currently in
commission, and finishing histories of ships that were still serving at the
time their entry was originally published. Other entries will be revised to correct errors and improve
the overall quality of the series.
Find an Error?
To report errors in individual
entries or to make suggestions for improvement contact the Ships History Branch
at:
Naval Historical Center (SH)
Washington Navy Yard
805 Kidder Breese Street SE
Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5060
Appendices:
- Classification of Naval Ships
and Service Craft (Under Construction)
- Confederate Forces Afloat
30 January 2004